areas where the united states is waging war, which is iraq, afghanistan, to some extent pakistan, possibly iran. this is the battle the united states is facing. the balance of power in the region, the iran iraqi, the indo-pakistani. each one of them have destabilized over 10 years. in the air of israel relationship, barring some dramatic change in egypt over time, israel is so dominant that it creates new realities on the ground. there's a difference to what the united states really says very often. in afghanistan the united states is asking pakistan to do things that create stability, that will weaken pakistan, that potentially cratered an independent regional power in india, that the united states may not appreciate in the long run. and, of course, the invasion of iraq has destroyed the iraq power, they're forgetting nuclear weapons. iran is the dominant conventional military force in the region. if the united states is there. the united states as its policies to withdraw from iraq, the potential for iran to fill the vacuum is extremely high. that in turn changes the balance of

special operations to devotee against al qaeda and associated groups outside of afghanistan, pakistan and iraq. director leon panetta expressed concerns on the shifting to other places most notably in yemen, somalia, north africa, and i hope he will address what you see as the appropriate role for the special operation forces in those areas. in announcing lieutenant general allan's nomination, president obama called him, quote, the flight commander to take over the vital mission in afghanistan. if confirmed, the general will have big boots to fill and succeeding general petraeus commander of the 49 member international security assistance force coalition and u.s. forces afghanistan. like general petraeus, general allen brings an in-depth understanding of the complexities of the counterinsurgency effort based on his own experience as the commander in anbar province in iraq. working with the sunni awakening the marines and anbar succeeded in getting local sunni tribal leaders to reject the insurgency and instead support the iraqi government and its the deputy commander at u.s. central c

provinces and areas in afghanistan. in achieving our goals in afghanistan remains pakistan's failure to act against militant extremists like the network in the north, the afghan taliban and other militant extremists. we will be interested in hearing general dempsey's thoughts on how to get the pakistan military to go after terrorist groups finding sanctuary in pakistan's tribal regions. al qaeda and the arabian peninsula in yemen and al qaeda elements in somalia continue to take advantage of failing and failed states to train their operatives and to plan attacks against the united states and our interests. it is critical that we don't apply significant pressure to these terrorist organizations, and to work with governments and international organizations in the region to address the long term problems. iran remains probably the greatest risk to world peace and to regional stability. we share the concerns of many nations about iran's continued support of terrorist activities beyond its borders, development of its missile programs, and refusal to cooperate with the international atomic en

afghanistan and pakistan. we must always be on guard. i am advised this figure is significantly reduced. international forces have been bearing down on al qaeda and the taliban in pakistan and afghanistan. osama bin laden has been killed and al qaeda is significantly weakened. in afghanistan british and international forces have driven al qaeda from its bases and while it is too early to tell for certain initial evidence suggests we halted the momentum of the taliban insurgency in its heartland. mr. speaker, we are entering a new phase in which the afghan forces will do more of the fighting and patrolling and our forces training and mentoring. as president obama said last month the mission is changing from, that to support. when we arrived there was no one to hand over to. no proper army or police. in many places across the country the afghan security forces now stand ready to begin the process of taking over security responsibility. success in afghanistan requires a number of critical steps. the first is making sure the afghan security forces are able to secure their own territory. the

military strategy in afghanistan and pakistan. if confirmed, general dempsey, who currently serves as army chief of staff, will succeed admiral mike mahlon who will retire a the end of september. a democrat carl levin chairs the senate armed services committee. >> good morning everybody. the committee meets this morning to consider the nomination ofmo general martin dempsey to bethii chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. it was not long ago that general dempsey came before us for his nomination hearing to become ago chief of staff of the army. we welcome him back. thanks again for his 36 years o dedicated service to the nation and his willingness to serve asm the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. as we know from those decades of service, general dempsey is an exceptionally well qualified american soldier and leader.al we we were reminded of the last hearing, hell is also a proud we we husband, father and grandfathero huand,l dempsey, will you remain grateful for the sacrifices that you and your family have made over the years, for the devotion of your beloved wife and the milita

counterterrorism efforts with pakistan. currently the u.k. is the second-largest of the foreign military force in afghanistan. from london, this is just under an hour. >> thank you, mr. speaker. with permission i would like to make a statement on afghanistan. formerly i said this government has sought to take a more hard hit security based approach to the mission.vernment as i've said, we are not there to build a perfect democracy, still a model society.re yes, we will help with the detablishment of demographicild institutions and yes, we can improve infrastructure, develop education, encourage democrac development, but we are in afghanistan. we can improve infrastructure, develop education and encourage development the we are in afghanistan for one overriding reason, to shore our own national security by helping the afghans take control of theirs. that means building up security forces to drive down british combat forces where the afghans themselves able to prevent al qaeda from returning and posing a threat to us and our allies around the world. this is poignant today on a plot executed by a

. given all that is at stake in pakistan, afghanistan, iran, saudi arabia, egypt, syria, yemen and elsewhere in the islamic world, a rational strategic assessment would not devote sizable american military and economic resources to a civil war in libya. it is an expensive diversion that leaves the united states and our european allies with fewer assets to respond to other contingencies. under the constitution, it is our responseability to determine whether we should be a party to libya's civil war. as a part of this process we will consider the terms and scope of the joint resolution before us today. i'm concerned this resolution would provide broad authorities, permitting significant expansion of the united states military involvement in libya's civil war. the resolution would authorize the president to reescalate united states military involvement in libya, to and potentially beyond the lead role it played at the beginning of the operation when the united states carried out intensive airstrikes on a daily basis. the resolution would only limit the president to actions quote, in s